The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 1600 hours on Monday as MP Sansuma Khunggur Bwiswmuthiary (IND), who raised the issue of group clashes in Bodo areas in Assam, came to the well of House and persistently shouted, compelling Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to take this action.
As soon as the House assembled at 1200 hours after the first adjournment following Bahujan Samaj Party members disrupting the House on their demand for a judicial inquiry into the Batla House encounter, Bwismuthiary raised the issue of violence in Bodo areas which began on October 3.
At this time, several members from the opposition benches were on their feet raising different issues.
Chatterjee repeatedly asked the members, including Bwismuthiary, to allow the house to function. After some efforts by the chair, they allowed the items listed on the agenda for the day to proceed. Most of this related to introduction of bills and papers to be tabled in the House by various ministers and members.
As soon as this was over, Chatterjee asked Bwismuthiary to make his statement.
On this, the member made a statement in which he narrated how hostilities between Bodo tribal people and 'fundamentalists', who he said, owed alleigiance to Pakistani terrorist groups, resulted in several deaths and largescale destruction of property belonging to the tribals.
After the statement was made by him, Chatterjee asked the next member to make his remarks. Bwismuthiary, however, kept on shouting from his chair.
He then came to the well of the House, took off his robe and chappals, sat on the floor and kept on shouting.
The speaker warned him that he will be left with no option, but to suspend him. He did not pay any heed to the warnings of the chair.
Several members came up to the member and tried to pacify him and persuade him to go back to his chair. Bwismurthiary refused to oblige.
The speaker said that he had given the member a chance to explain his position, but Bwismuthiary was trying to make political capital out of the issue.
Seeing that the member would not yield, an angry Chatterjee adjourned the House till 1600 hours.
The House was adjourned for an hour soon after it assembled for the day as Bahujan Samaj Party members Akbar Ahmad Dumpy and Iliyas Azmi rushed to the well of the House flashing copies of a newspaper carrying reports on a "new version" on the encounter.
The BSP members were demanding a judcial inquiry into the Batla House encounter.
Members of the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal were also up on their feet demanding action against activists of the Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, who allegedly beat up some north Indians appearing for a Railway Recruitment Board examination in Mumbai.
Before the House assembled, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Congress president Sonia Gandhi were seen in animated discussion with Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar whose party is a major partner in the Congress-led coalition government in Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day as a mark of respect to Laxminarayan Sharma, a sitting member of the House who died last week.
When the House met for the day, Chairman Hamid Ansari mentioned the passing away of Sharma on October 17 at the age of 75.
Born in September 1933 at Karondia village in Bhopal district in Madhya Pradesh, Sharma had his education from Vikram University, Ujjain, and was an agriculturalist by vocation. He began his legislative career in 1967 and was a member of Madhya Pradesh Assembly for 35 years.
He was a member of the Upper House from Madhya Pradesh since 2004.
"In passing away of Sharma, the country has lost a veteran parliamentarian and administrator and a noted social worker. We deeply mourn the passing away of Sharma," Ansari said.
The House observed a minute's silence as a mark of respect to the departed soul before adjourning for the day.
Additional Reportage: UNI
